The present invention relates to a panel which allows free access to a signal cable, and to a power cable, which is capable of arranging the signal cable, and which is located along with other electronic components under the surface of a floor of an office or a computer room.
As microelectronics has been recently developed, a number of office automation apparatuses have been installed in an office. Data communication can be executed at a high speed such as 10 Mbit per second through transmission cables such as coaxial cables and optical fibers between a plurality of work stations, file units of a large capacity, and between printers. It is necessary to form a local area network by laterally and longitudinally arranging signal cables of these main lines, such as the coaxial cables and the optical fibers, in the office. This is also true in a computer room in which computers have been installed.
When office automation equipment is installed, cables might be accidentally disconnected. In order to prevent such a problem, that is to prevent any delays due to the disconnection of the cables, and to enhance the reliability of the equipment, electronic components such as couplers, transceivers and modems are arranged in the vicinity of the main cables. Lead cables are wired from these electronic components, connecting the office automation equipment and the main line cables. On the other hand, when a variety of office automation equipment is employed, a large amount of electric power, as well as a large number of plug sockets are required. A great deal of labor is necessary to install these signal cables, power cables and electronic components. The installation of these cables and components must also permit modifications in the layout of the equipment.
In order to permit future modifications to be made, a free access floor is usually installed in a computer room. On this free-access floor, floor panels of 30 to 45 cm are mounted at an interval of approx. 15 to 30 cm from the surface of the floor (slab), and signal cables and power cables are arranged in the space between the floor panel and the slabs. However, when the conventional free-access floor is employed in an office, the position of the electronic components is restricted so as to avoid contact with the cables. In the cables arrangement, unreasonable forces tend to be applied to the electronic components, thereby causing damage to the components themselves and problems when the components contact the power cables. Therefore, the installation of the signal cables, power cables and electronic components is restricted by laws and regulations, and further, installation can only be executed by authorized specialists. When the layout of the equipment needs to be modified, a large amount of work is required for each installation. As described above, since the installation work requires special knowledge, the user cannot modify the layout of the office automation equipment himself.